Many of you will know the name Brother Andrew (who was ‘promoted to glory’ in 2022): he was a missionary to Eastern Europe during the days of communism, and became famous for the book ‘God’s Smuggler’. One of the most memorable chapters of that book for me – which is one of my favourite Christian … Read more
Do people change? It’s an age-old question, and one which has invited great debates over the years. I think most of us would love to believe that we can, and do – but you’ll find plenty of cynics who’ll tell you that people don’t, or can’t. The answer to the question, as is so often … Read more
Today our ‘day in the life of Jesus’ finally comes to an end. And what a day it’s been! He’s been across the lake, calmed a storm, freed a tormented man, got kicked out of the area in a matter of hours, restored a woman who had been suffering for years… and missed a chance … Read more
What is healing? It’s a question that has particularly occupied our attention in recent times; whilst all of us have to navigate health issues at various points in our lives, a pandemic brings those into sharp focus. It also begs deeper questions – coronavirus is bad enough in itself, but what about other things that … Read more
I wonder if you’re the sort of person who likes being sidetracked? I sometimes do – usually when I’m forcing myself to attend to something I don’t want to be doing! Then an interruption is most welcome. There are other times, though, when I find the appearance of the unexpected something of a trial. I’m … Read more
Not many of us are good evangelists. Most of us are frightened at the prospect of having to ‘defend the faith’, and frankly terrified at the thought of ‘leading someone to Jesus’. Some of us have had bad experiences – others are keen to avoid that being the case! The good news of today’s passage … Read more
Today’s passage is an unsettling one, especially to our modern sensibilities. First, we rarely talk in the West about spiritual beings like demons – although in much of the world such things are still treated as a part of life. Second, we find the idea of the drowning pigs abhorrent. What are we to make … Read more
One of the most popular films of all time is Forrest Gump. One of the reasons for this is the homespun wisdom of Forrest, and in particular his mama. The film is punctuated with such pearls, though of course the most famous is: ‘Life is like a box of chocolates: you never know what you’re … Read more
I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene…’ So goes the grand old hymn, which has reminded me that it’s too long since I’ve chosen to sing it in church! But it touches on a deep truth: how important it is to continue to be amazed by Jesus. ‘Who is this?’ the disciples … Read more
This is, as they say, a passage of two halves. Sometimes the headings we put into our bibles, dividing up the text, aren’t always that helpful, and this might be one occasion. What we see here is the beauty and the beast of our discipleship. First the beauty: time spent in the presence of Jesus. … Read more